Obituary of Vernon L Hiatt

Vernon LeRoy Hiatt was born on June 20, 1941, the first of eight children to William and Delores Hiatt, formerly of Gravity and New Market, Iowa.

 He spent his childhood and adolescent years growing up on a farm north of New Market, helping his dad and mom or playing with his brother and sisters. He loved working on old tractors, redoing them to make them run like new, and spending days fishing in the lakes and rivers.  Hobbies that he’d pass on to his son later.  He graduated from New Market High School in 1960. After graduation, he joined the Iowa National Guard and then proceeded to join the United States Army in 1962.  He spent 18 months abroad in Germany, during which he met the love of his life as a pen pal in 1963 through a mutual friend.

Love grew while writing letters and sending pictures back and forth while he was overseas.  After being discharged from the Army, he went to see her, which eventually led to their marriage.

On October 21, 1965, he married Gladius Johnson of Jenkins, Kentucky, in a small private ceremony in Clintonwood, Virginia.  Their marriage was blessed with three wonderful children: Sabrina, Emit and Lizza.  He loved being involved in his children’s education, sports and activities.  He was a Boy Scout leader for many years and helped the Girl Scouts. He became a member of the Kentucky National Guard for 6 years.

He then worked for the Bethlehem Steel Coal Mining Company for 23 years before retiring following a back injury.   They lived in Kentucky while the children were in school.  In the fall of 1996, he and Gladius moved back to Iowa.  They became members of the Circle 8 Square Dance group, along with the rest of his family members.  He loved to bowl and fish, which led to his membership in the USBC bowling league and the Nishna Valley Bass Masters/Fisherman of Men.

One of his favorite hobbies was collecting model trains. He enjoyed making replicas of tracks he had fond memories of.  In his collection, he had many different scales of trains and tracks, which he enjoyed showing.

He was a member of the New Market Church of Christ and several organizations, including the Masonic Lodges of Kentucky and Iowa, the Gravity American Legion, New Market Civics, The Historical Society of New Market, and many more.  Vernon was well known throughout the community.  "He didn’t ask for much other than good coffee and fellowship.”

Vernon passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, in Clarinda, Iowa surrounded by loved ones.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Delores Hiatt, wife Gladius, daughter Sabrina Bishop, grandson Ethan O'Connor, and brother Francis Hiatt.

Vernon is survived by his children, Emit Hiatt of Wappapello, Missouri, Lizza O’Connor of New Market, Iowa; grandchildren, Kassandra, Krysta, Jacob, Alex, Anastyn, Dakota, and Paytan; great-grandchildren, Michael, Brian, Rilynn, Adalynn, and Noah; brothers, Gailen (Charlene) Hiatt of Roswell, NM, Harold Hiatt of Casper, WY, Carroll Hiatt of Gravity, Iowa, Larry Hiatt of New Market, Iowa, ; sisters, Joyce (Jim) Zurmuehlen of Gravity, Iowa, and Laura Johnson of New Market, Iowa.